The rulebook which will allow simpler and cheaper legalization of illegally constructed structures in Serbia, granting a discount of up to 99 percent, came into effect Tuesday, said Minister of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic.

Visiting the Building Trade Fair in Belgrade, Dulic told reporters that this will finally solve a major problem which has been plaguing Serbian citizens.

"I expect that starting today, local administrations will be exceptionally agile and efficient when it comes to legalization and issuing building permits," the minister pointed out.

He said that the legalization rulebook coming into force marks the start of enforcement of the amended Law on Planning and Construction.

The minister reiterated that the government has allocated over EUR 500 million for construction projects this year, but that the bureaucracy needs to do its part for the projects to go ahead.